Improved apparatus for freezing liquids



v 2 Sheets-Sheet1. J. B. J.'MIGN0N & $.11. ROUART.

APPARATUS FOR FREEZING LIQUIDS.

Patented Sept. 26, 1865.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

B. J. MIGNON & $.11. ROUART. APPARATUS FOR FREEZING LIQUIDS.

No. 50,212. Patented Sept. 26, 1865.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JEAN BAPTISTE JAVA MIGNON ANDTSTANISLAS HENRI'ROUART, OF PARIS,

' FRANCE.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR FREEZING LIQUIDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,2] 2, dated September 26. 1865.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that we, JEAN BAPTISTE J AVA MIGNON and STANISLAS HENRI ROUART, both of Paris,in theEmpire of France, haveinven'ted certain new and useful Imp: ovements in Apparatus for Freezing Liquids; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same.

The invention subject of this patent relates to a particular arrangement which wehave adopted for machinery'or apparatus of continuous action; also, to certain improvementsiu the construction and arrangement of apparatus of intermittent action, or for domestic purposes, rendering the same particularly more eflicient. The former is an improvement upon the apparatus for which Letters Patent'of the United States were issued to F. P. E. Garr on the 23d day of October, 1860, while the latter relates more particularly to constructive details, whereby greater simplicity of construction and perfection of operation is attained. Eitherapparatus,however,is speciallydesigned with a view of utilizing the action of ammonia in solution in water.

The annexed drawings represent several views in plan and sectional elevation.

Figures 1 and 2, Plate 1, are, respectively, a vertical section and plan view of the intermittent apparatus, which is composed of a boiler, A, surmounted by a cylindrical chamber, B, which is united by means of the tube of communication 0 with the congealing apparatus. In this cylindrical chamber there is a plate, 0, carrying two valves, one, 8, located at the extremity of an upright tube, and'anoth'er, s, placed on the end of the tube, which constitutes a siphon, m 12.19, as shown in detail in Fig. 3. Centrally and from the top of theboiler descends a tube, 1, closed at the lower extremity and designed to hold oil, in which a thermometer is placed.

The, cougealing apparatus is annular and conical, the interior cavity, g hi is, receiving a movable vessel, V, in which the congelation takes place. It is closed at the under side by meansof a metallic disk provided with a hole which may be closed bya stopper.

r is a brace, applied only for convenience of construction, and q is a tube, the upper part of which is enlarged andclosed by means of a screw compressing a tin washer, and is designed to expel the air which the apparatus may contain at the commencementof the operation.- In order to make ice or produce cold by means of this apparatu s,;the boiler is placed over afire or furnace, while the congealing apparatus is put in water which is as cold as possible. The temperature in the boiler is raised until the thermometer in thetube b indicates a temperature'of'from 130 to 160 centigrade, according to the climate. The gas thus generated in the boiler escapes through.

the valve s, and condenses in the annular space L under the influence of pressure and cold. The boiler is then removed from 0d the fire and placed in water, which operation causes a diminution of the pressure in the boiler and the volatilization of the liquefied gases,where'by the valve s is actuated, and the gas becomes absorbed or dissolved in the water of the boiler. This volatilization of the liquefied ammoniacal gas produces intense cold, which may be utilized in any manner desirable. If ice be wanted,

the hole at t is closed by means of acork,andthe vessel V, filled with water,is placed within the chamber 9 hik, leavin g a small annular space between it and the chamber, which is filled with a noncongealable liquid. This will aid the transmission of the cold produced, and after a short lapse of time the said vessel may be removed, containing a lump of ice of theform of the interior of the vessel. The apparatus may then be-used again for a new operation. The functions of this machine are necessarily intermittent. During the first part of the'operatio'u the boilerdistills the ammoniacal gases and the congealing apparatus liquefies the same, while during the second part of the operation the boiler absorbs the gases and the congealing apparatusvaporizes the same. Thus it will be seen that each organ performs functions radically opposite, and if it be desired to give this apparatus a continuous action it will be necessary to compose the same of four principal organs, such as will be seen in Fig. 4 of Plate 2, which represents an elevation, partly in section,of an apparatus of continuous action, and in Fig. 5, Plate 1, which is a plan view of the same.

The apparatus shown in the said figures is composed, first, of a boiler, A, permanently placed in a furnace, and in which the ammoniacal vapors or gases are continuously'genermerged in a non-congealab'le liquid, in this apparatus the volatization of the gases bcin g effected; fourth, of an absorber, D, in which the exhausted liquids of the boiler or those poor in ammonia are charged with ammoniacal vapors and are returned to the boilers rich in ammonia. A serpentine pipe, d, placed in this vessel will constantly absorb the heat generated by the combination of the ammonia with the water. The exhausted ammoniacal solu- "tion,'which sinks to the bottom of the boiler, because of its greater density, is directly brought into the absorbing vessel by the pressure in the boiler, and a cock in the pipe communicating the boiler with the absorbing-vessel regulates the flow of the liquid from the boiler to the absorber. On the other hand the gas, which is entered in suitable proportions into the congealing apparatus, will be carried tothe absorber; but in order that the v'olatiliza- 't'ioii may be efiecte'd in a proper manner, it is necessary that the pressure in the congealing apparatus, and consequentlyin the absorptionvessel, with which it is'in direct communication, shall be constantly maintained according to the temperature which it is desired to be produced. it is therefore necessary to employ a pump, E, or. a device to restitute or return from the absorption-vessel to the boiler the "liquid, which shall have been charged again.

with ammoniacal' vapor.

I The apparatus further contains several accessory devices of relative utility, which, renderin g the operatiouboth easy and ec0nomical, deserve special mention. Between the liquefier and the congealing apparatus or' refrigerator there is a recipient, F, for the liquefied gas. It is provided with a tube to indicate the level, and consequently the quan- --tity of available liquefied gas it contains, and

it also serves the purpose'of regulating the flow of the liquid into the refrigerator, where.

it-ist'o' be received in a quantity varying with the extent of the serpentine pipe contained.

Between the boiler and the absorption-vessel there is a cylindrical vessel, G, which is composed of an outer cylinder, 9, and aplunger, 9, between which there is an annularspace, within which a serpentine pipe composed of several branches is located. The exhausted but warm liquid coming from the boiler circulates through the serpentine and parts with the greater part of its heat, heating the rich but cold liquid which fills the annular space and surrounds the serpentine pipe.

It is hardly necessary to add that the exhausted liquid and the rich liquid circulate in opposite directions, the rich liquid ascending and the exhausted liquid descending. This contrivance has the double advantage of preparing the exhausted ammonia-cal solution for a new absorption by cooling it-and of producing an economyby utilizing the heat which is abandoned by the reheating of the rich liquid that is to undergo a new distillation. Oomplementary to this we use a cylindrical tank," H, containing a serpentine pipe, in which the exhausted liquid coming from the vessel G circulates. The tank, being constantly supplied witha fresh stream of water, will effect the cooling of the liquid circulated through the serpentine.

p K is a heater located in the flue of the furnace, and has for its object to complete upon the rich liquid the effect produced in the vessel G. We also use a device for expelling from the apparatus the air and the non-condensable gases which it may contain. It consists of a vessel, m, filled with water, in which plunges a tube, it, having. a cock on its extremity. By means of the cock placed on the recipient of the liquefied gas, a similar expulsion ot' the air and non-condensa-ble gases is made from the boiler and the liquifier. The ,boiler is placed in a furnace built of brick, and 'theliquefier, the absorption-vessels, pump,

and the other contrivances described are arranged on a suitable frame-work, of which M' is the foundation-plate and L L the standards.

In order to use this apparatus forthe purpose of making ice, a series of molds of any form that may be deemed proper are placed in the bath of non-congealable liquids. It is. well then to agitate them, which may be effected by placing them in a movable frame, Q, the tail-piece q of which is connected by means of an eccentric, q, with the shaft operating the pump and which is moved simultaneously therewmh.

If the apparatus be used only to produce cold, the serpentine pipes of the refrigerator may be caused to act directly upon the liquid.

In the boiler are arranged a series of disks, one above the other, the object of which is to rectify the gas-that is to say, to deprive it'as much as possible of water. These lates constitute the rectifier R.

The operation of the machine above de-' scribed is as follows: The ammonia distilled in the boiler A is rectified by its passage through the rectifier R, is then conveyed to the liquefier B, under the influence of pressure and cold becomes liquefied, accumulates in the recipient T of the liquefied gases, and finally arrives in the absorption-vessel D through the plunging tube 01. The exhausted ammonia-cal solution, on the other hand, sinks to the bottom of the boiler, whence, by means of the tube a,'it is conveyed into the serpentine of the cylindrical vessel G and its complemen tary vessel, and finally arrives cooled in the absorption-vessel, whence it drops upon a per forated plate, which returns it"to the cooling serpentinein the form of spray or shower.

. The gas and the exhausted ammoniacal solution arrive simultaneously in theabsorptionv'essel and combine with each other, thus generatingarich ammoniacal liquor, which is taken and forced by t pu p th gh the .ve se G and a reheating apparatus into the upper plates of the rectifier. This ammoniacal solutionmndergoes a new distillation,-and will again pass through the 'jseveral stages of the operation, asj ust describ'ed. Gold is produced in the serpentine pipe of the refrigerator, and is transmitted to the non-congealable liquid vin which the ice-molds are placed. The ice is removed from the molds by bathingthe latter in water of ordinary temperature.

To save all the cold that may be produced, we use a sleeve around the tube through which the ammoniacal vapors of the refrigerator escape,-wh1ch' sleeve constitutes .a reservoir for water which is ultimately tobe. congealed. In this way it is caused preliminarily to lose several degrees of ter'uperature, A small tank placed upon the liquefier B, on'top of the apparatus, has noother object than to effect an easy distribution of the water of condensation between the liquefier and the absorption-vessel Having thus described the general'i'arrange-' merits and functions of this apparatus, we shall now refer to some details which deserve special arein brackets which are fast to or part of the frame. The piston-rod,it will be seen, traverses a double stuffing-box, made of indie-rubber or leather. By a very simple arrangement the pressure exerted by the stuffing-box on the piston-rod is greatly reduced. The arrangement consists in placing incommunication, by means of tubes, the absorption-vessel with the pump-cylinder. The tube is connected with a branch, I), as shown in Fig. 6, Plate 1, establishingcommunication between the absorptionvessel and the portion of the cylinder which'is between the upper end of the stroke of the piston and the'stuffing-box.

The valves or cooks used in this apparatus are made to beperfectly tight at-whatever pressure. To this eflect the conical plug-or stopper is provided with a stem, a, Fig. 7, which is soldered'or otherwise securedto the upper or contracted portion of the'plug, which is placed in the cock-chamber insuch a manner as that the stem at will protrude at the upper part thereof, whilethe cham ber itself forms a projection at the under side. From this it will be seen that leakage can only take'place either above or below the conical plug. Below the escape is prevented by means of a stopper,

0, which is screwed onto a metallic washer, d, which compres'ses'anot-her washer made of rubber, 0. Above, a rubber tube-is connected with the cock-chamber on the one side and the upper portion of the stem won the other, in which tube the leaks, if there be any, are collected; The elasticity of the rubber tube will allow-o1 the working or rotation of the plug without allowing any o'f-the ammoniacal A gases toescape. The plug is maintained in position in thecQck-phamber' by means of a small spring, whichrender's the working of the cock comparatively ,easy. A safety-valve (shown inFig. 7 isarranged in such. a'mannet as to allow of no loss of gas, even if the pressure should exceed that of safety. The clappet-valve a. is suspended in the center of a flexible rubber valve, b, held in place by means of a ring, 0, over the cavity d. A lever provided with aweightrests, accordingto the ordinary arrangement, on the central pin of the clappet-valve. In the cavity 01 a side opening, c, is made, from which starts a branch, f, in which is fastened'the tube g, the lower extremity ofwhich plunges in a bath, h.

It is evident that if by excess of pressure the clappet-valve a-be raised, the gas, instead of escaping into the open air, will pass through the opening cintoand become absorbed by the water.

The distributershownin Figs-'8, of theao- 'coinpanying drawings is a deviceby whichthe liquefied gas is distributed iu-equal quantities; through the several serpentine pipes which compose the refrigerator.

'In' the construction of thisapparatus no materials other than metal-t. e., materials not 'attackable by am-monia-should be employed.

Care should be taken to avoid'theemployment of alloys of copper and'zinc.- Copper may,

however, be employed by tinnin'g or silvering it. The solderemployedshouldbeeither-silver or tin, and the joints'are packed by means of a cement composed of the white of eggs mixed with quick-lime, mby' means of rubber or tin washers.

Pressure-gagesshould always be used on the boiler ot the apparatus of continuous action and upon the absorption-vessels. '011 small machines a safety-valve may be used which is composed of a disk inclos'ed in a suitable chain'- her. This disk. should boot a resistance such as to tear or break when submitted to a pressure which is less than that necessary to burst the boiler. v

With this apparatus may be used the various forms of refrigerators described in the patent before referred to of F. P. E. Oarr, and other modifications in the construction and operation ,may be adopted without departure from our invention..

Having-thus described the improvements subject of this patent and the manner in which the same are or maybe carriedinto effect, we claim- 1; The general con: traction and-arrangement or combination ofapparamshawingcontinuous .Inic'stimony wherof we have signed our actioni napmesto this specification before two sub- 2; The general construction and arrangement scribing witnesses.

or combination of apparatus having inter'mit-' J. MIGNON.

tent; acpicn, Witnesses: H. ROUART.

3. The: particular construction and alrangc- EDWARD TUGK, v .x nsntofthe pumps, stop-cocks, distributenand; U. S. Vice-Consul. ,l safety-valvQ'allasherein slg0wn and described: S."KINNARD. 

